Seven more Kosovo refugees come to LV

Wednesday, June 9, 1999 | 11:04 a.m.

Seven more Kosovo refugees arrived at McCarran International Airport Tuesday evening, bringing the number in Las Vegas to 15.

Officials expect another influx next week.

"We anticipate between 150 and 200 in the next two months," Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada spokeswoman Laurie Perez said, uncertain of when the next group will arrive.

Monday evening, six members of one family and two single men landed at McCarran International Airport, coming here directly from a refugee camp in Macedonia.

Perez said the seven people who arrived Tuesday evening were members of a single family who had spent a brief time at Fort Dix, N.J.

Most Kosovar refugees coming to the United States are first going to Fort Dix for orientation and to become acclimatized to America.

Catholic Charities will spend weeks getting the refugees accustomed to the culture here, enrolling them in English as a Second Language Classes and sponsoring speakers such as education specialists and police officers who will talk to them about various issues they will face while in this country.

Perez said the first group of arrivals attended a two-hour orientation session Tuesday morning where they learned about the services available to them.

The top priority will be to enroll the refugees in a class in English as a Second Language.

"Right now, the language barrier is the biggest problem," Perez said.

Perez said many people have called offering donations.

'The community has been very welcoming," she said.

To help Kosovo refugees arriving in Las Vegas, contact Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada. Cash donations should be directed to P.O. Box 2161, Las Vegas, NV, 89125-2161. To have items picked up call 382-9781. To drop something off call 383-8387.